Fire Emblem: Last of the Manakete

"War is ninety percent information."
-Sky Marshal Joséphine


As you stare at the scared, angry boy in front of you, the calm, thoughtful part of your mind ponders if this is how Artemis felt. In some ways, she'd been in an easier position. After all, she'd just had to escape. You had to not only escape, but escape with a prisoner that the Talons went to a lot of trouble to capture and keep.

You know, intellectually and instinctively, that this boy isn't going to be that much help. Oh, he might be able to provide some information or a minor distraction, but that would just put him in more danger. You also can't take him with you like Artemis could take you with her. After all, not only were you already going to be straining to move both Robin and Sypha at speed, John probably has family here. It would be wrong to take him away from them.

However, that means that if he were to help you, you'd have to leave him at the mercy of a bunch of furious Talons. Talons who he seems to fundamentally misunderstand the nature of. You can't do that; you won't be able to live with yourself if you do that.

Of course, the other issue is that, because of his fundamental misunderstanding, John might get it in his head that the Talons are the good guys in all this. Especially if he somehow guesses you're a manakete (unlikely, but he's shown himself to be very clever. It's a shame you can't just sit and talk to him, it'd be nice to bounce ideas and thoughts off each other.)

If you were to tell him why you're here, and he were to then pass that information on to the Talons… that would be disastrous. Not only would they probably move Sypha, making all the information you gathered useless, but they'd be ready for you. Your dragon form is strong, but you don't think you're able to fight a fully prepared camp. They need to remain scattered. Need to remain vulnerable to being picked off in small groups as they try to figure out what's going on.

The only thing that gives you the slightest pause is the fact that, had Artemis thought as you are right now, she'd have left you behind in your home. Of course, you reassure yourself, you'd already shown yourself to be useful, so she had been able to reason her way out of her desire not to get you involved.

You, knowing that John can't or won't help you, have only one option left.

"I don't know what you're talking about," you lie. 'It's for your own good,' you think. "I… I was just curious…"

John glares at you. "Bullshit!" he snarls, causing you to flinch back at the vitriol. "You were interested the moment you overheard us! You came over to us-"

"Well you were all clearly up to something, and I was curious what!" you snap back, trying to force John onto the defensive. "When I found out what, I wanted to know more. Besides, you asked me for help!"

"But why!?" John shoots back. "If you were so curious, you would have wanted to be the one looking into the tent, not doing the more dangerous distraction that none of us wanted to do! You didn't even try to complain or weasel your way out of it. Jace would have caved and Jack could have been convinced to go along!" You flinch: it had seemed like a risky thing to do, but you had needed to know anything you could about the camp and hadn't wanted to risk losing your cover.

"Well, you said that I'd be more likely to get away with it, and I did, mostly," you say.

"Yeah, because you had help," John growls. "How come someone came to help yo-"

"I don't know!" you snap. "She wanted to warn me about sticking my nose into things that didn't concern me, said she wouldn't be able to help me again if I got into trouble." This was technically true, so long as you ignore what happened afterwards.

John's eyes somehow narrow further, and you realize that you're not going to be able to end this conversation in a satisfactory manner. It was time to cut your losses.

"Look, I'm sorry about your friend." You honestly mean that. You desperately hope he'll be okay. Surely the Talons wouldn't hurt him, especially since he hadn't seen anything himself. "Really, really I am. I wish there was something I could do to help, but I… I have to go let Father know I'm okay or he'll tan my hide." You still don't exactly know what that means, but it sounded bad when Manuela said it.

"So you're just going to walk away?" John asks icily. "Just going to wash your hands of this and leave Jack high and dry?"

For a moment, for a glorious moment that you're pretty sure is connected to the faint crackling of the stone in your pocket, you consider telling John exactly what you are, what you're capable of, and what you're planning to do in the near future. You probably could even get Jack out; you wouldn't be able to carry him anywhere, but if you knew where he was being held, simply squishing the guards would give him the chance to run, and the Talons would be too busy with you to chase him.

After that moment passes, however, you remember that humans think of manakete only as dragons. You'd probably just terrify John right into the Talon's hands if you told him what was really going on here. "John… please," you say. "I… I wish things hadn't happened the way they did, and I wish there was more I could have done, but I…" you don't know what to say, so you just finish weakly. "At least Jace probably got out. Could you… tell him I'm sorry, too?" With that, before John can say anything else angering or hurtful, you hop out of the grass and hurry down the path.

You halfway expect John to try and grab you, or at least yell after you, but when you glance back all you see is him studying you. He… doesn't even seem especially angry anymore, just confused and thoughtful.

He's going to come up with answers for what happened, you know that for certain. You would in his place, and he's smart and creative enough to do it. You just hope that, when he does come up answers, he keeps them to himself rather than going to the Talons with them. Who knows, maybe he'll go find Jace and learn what's going on from someone he likes.

As you walk back into Glenhaven and start looking for the market, you feel as if everyone is looking at you. There are still Talons around town, and you're constantly worried that, somehow, they'll have heard of what happened at the camp or guess what you've done and confront you. You've stuffed the note away, but you can almost feel it burning a hole in your pocket. If the Talons realize you have it, there's no way you'll be able to avoid a costly fight that will almost certainly force you to use your dragon form in the center of a packed, panicking town.

The mere thought of the bloodshed that would result nearly makes you gag.

As you find the market, you pause at the edge. Robin had said that he would still be here: it hasn't been an hour yet. You're momentarily tempted to just go to the meeting place, but a worried thought stops you. If John decides to go to the Talons, and they believe him, then they'll be coming after you. You and Robin have been seen together, so when they can't find you, it's possible they'll go after him. That would be all you need, to have even more people to rescue.

You need to find Robin fast, before the bad guys do.

Of course, this would be easier if you weren't reminded, once again, that you are not used to dealing with large crowds! There are just so many people, so much noise. Most of them are taller than you, so you can't see over them. Well, you could fly, but that was just such a bad idea you're ashamed you even thought of it. Pacing worriedly, you look around for something you can climb on. You can't go into the crowd or you'll just get even more lost and turned around. A few people glance in your direction, and you force yourself to smile and not show any weakness, any sign of the panic that's starting to worm its way into-

"Hey, kid, you okay?"

You jump as someone you hadn't noticed speaks from behind you. "Yes?" you squeak.

It's a woman, middle aged with short brown hair and wearing similar clothing to the other Talons but no weapon or armor. Instead, she has a faintly glowing staff in one hand and a bag in the other that smelled faintly of herbs. Two other Talons are behind her, but neither seem worried or alert, instead looking at you with seemingly sympathetic expressions.

The front woman carefully kneels down to eye level, leaning her staff against her shoulder so she can raise a hand palm-out. "Hey, hey, it's alright," she says softly. "It's okay, we're not going to hurt you. Are you lost, kid?"

You consider just running off: the less the Talons see of you, the better. However, when you take a moment to think about it, you realize that will just attract more attention to you. No, best to play along, find Robin, and get out of town before they realize anything's wrong.

"A little," you say. "My name's Gwyn, and I just got here with my father. I wandered off, and now I can't find him again."

The woman smiles. "Well, a word of advice, Gwyn: when you're in a strange place don't wander off." She looks around. "What does your father look like?"

You think for a moment. "He's about his height," you say, pointing to one of her friends. "He wears a hood and cloak like mine, and he has a bow case. He has a beard that's starting to grey a bit-"

The third Talon frowns. "I think I remember seeing him, Becca," he says. "Yeah, he was over that way."

"Great," Becca says, standing and offering you her hand. "Get these herbs back to camp you two; I'll make sure our wayward child makes it back to her father safely."

Gingerly, you accept Becca's hand. "Thank you," you say.

"You're welcome," she says. "So where are you from, Gwyn?"

"Aslockton," you say. You've told enough people that lie that you don't have to be worried about more people hearing about it. "Are you a healer?"

Becca smiles. "I am," she says, showing you her staff. "I'm one of Captain Florince's acolytes; she's the leader of the chapter's healers. She sent me down to finish restocking our supplies; we just got back from a bit of a long job."

You bite your tongue. You know what that job had been, but you need to play at being the calm human child happy to go back to her family. Still… "Was it fun?" you ask, hoping you sound innocent.

The woman pauses, and you think you see a flicker of… something, cross her face. "…Very few of our jobs can truly be said to be fun," she says carefully after a moment. "Especially to those who are sworn to preserving life where we can. Still, in the end it will be worth it." Before you can do more than consider her words, she stands on her tiptoes to see over the crowd. "I think I see your father, Gwyn," she says.

"I'll take your word for it," you say. "I can't see a thing."

Becca laughs slightly. "Well, let's find out," she says. A minute later, she manages to push her way through the press of people to find another quiet, secluded stall. "Excuse me," she says.

Robin looks up. "Yes, can I help you?" he asks before spotting you. "Gwyn, there you are," he says. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, Father," you say, tugging your hand from Becca's and trotting over to him.

"I'm glad I found you," Becca says as she follows you to Robin.

Robin studies her for a moment, frowning. "Is there a problem?" he asks, gently moving you behind him and setting your bag down for you to grab.

The woman smiles. "No, no problem," she says. "I just saw Gwyn looking confused and lost, and I wanted to make sure she made it back safely." She studies the two of you. "You… don't exactly look the same, if you don't mind me saying."

"She favors her mother, thank the spirits," Robin says easily. If you hadn't known he was lying, you don't think you'd have been able to pick up on it. Hopefully Becca's not good at spotting liars.

"Ah," Becca says, nodding. "I guess that makes sense." She glances at you again, seems to consider her words, before stepping closer and lowering her voice. "Have you ever considered looking for a magical mentor for your daughter?"

Robin raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I can't be positive, but when we were walking I got the feeling that Gwyn has a lot of magical potential." Becca gives a self-deprecating smile. "She'd have to, if I was able to sense it; I'm not the most talented of clerics." She looks around. "I don't think there's anyone here who can really help her: there's only the local town healer and I was feeling a bit more lightning off of her, but if you're looking there's a mage over in Wyrmbone to the north of here that's in good standing with the Hall. At least he and Captain Marxon apparently had a good chat when we were last over that way." She shrugs. "Just offering advice; if you do go say we sent you, he'll give you some time. Have a good day, and Gwyn be sure to stay with your father like a good girl. Sun shine on you."

Robin raises an eyebrow. "Spirits be with you." Becca rolls her eyes slightly, but doesn't comment as she walks away and is swallowed up by the crowd.

You glance up at Robin, confused. "What was that about?" you ask.

"She's a Solite, apparently," he says. "Don't see many of them down south, mostly Animists and Sentinalites." He shakes his head as you start to open your mouth. "No matter, I'm just glad she helped you find your way back. Did you have fun?"

Oh, right, you have important information you need to pass on. "A bit," you say. "Are we nearly done?" Hopefully so so you can get out of town before the Talons figure out that something is wrong.

Robin frowns slightly. "Mostly," he says.

"That's good, that's good," you say. "I hope we can go soon." 'Please pick up on it, please take the hint,' you think desperately.

Thankfully, Robin's eyes widen slightly before he nods. "Let me just finish up here," he says softly, nodding to the stall owner, who has been remarkably patient with the disruption.

"Okay," you say. "Okay, that's good."

Robin nods again before stepping back over to the stall and continuing to haggle in a hushed voice. Fidgeting, you look worriedly around, hoping that you won't see any more Talons coming your way. Trying to distract yourself, you pull out the note again, trying to puzzle out what about it is setting you off. Frustratingly, you still can't even fully read it, let along figure out what's going on.

"Alright, Gwyn, we're done here," Robin says, putting a hand on your shoulder. "Have you got everything?"

"I do," you say. Then, lowering your voice as the two of you walk away, you hiss, "We should get out of town. Now."

"Is something wrong?" Robin asks warily.

"I don't know," you say. "Nothing immediate, but it could be, and I have something I need to show you."

Thankfully, Robin doesn't argue or question you further, instead smoothly leading the way out of town, acting for all the world as if the two of you were just any ordinary human father and daughter out for a walk. Taking some measure of comfort from his calmness, you try to act just like him.

Thank the Mother, nobody questions the pair of you on your way out. A few Talons seem to glance your way a little longer than needed, but that could just be your imagination, as none of them do anything more than look. Finally, after a few minutes, the pair of you are sitting under the tree you'd originally been planning to meet at with the hill between you and any prying eyes in Glenhaven.

"Are you alright, Ryza?" Robin asks softly. "You're scared."

"I'm not scared," you say immediately. "Just… a little cautious." You pull the note from Belle out of your pocket, smoothing it out as best you can before offering it to Robin. "So, I went up to the Talons' camp and was able to look around a bit…"

You tell Robin the whole story of what happened, haltingly at first but with more confidence as he doesn't second guess or judge you. In fact, other than the occasional question, he spends most of your description studying the note with a furrowed brow.

"… and so I decided that it would be best to get back to you as soon as possible, in case John decided to try and help Jack by telling on me," you finish.

Robin slowly nods. "I can see where you got that idea, though I don't think the risk is that high," he says. "Without any proof, he'd have a hard time getting any of the Talons to take him seriously, and by the sound of it he's smart enough to know it." He glances around the tree thoughtfully. "In fact, I'd say his most likely course of action would be to either find his younger friend or try to follow you, and by the lack of his presence he chose the first option. Still, we should keep an eye out for him in case he's just running late."

You glance around the other side of the tree. "What do we do if he does follow us?" you ask worriedly.

"Well, as your father it would be my job to scold you for taking such a big risk," Robin says mildly. When you flinch, he gives a reassuring smile. "I know that you're much older and tougher than you look, and His Highness did give you a job to do and you are doing it well. Still, hearing me telling you off would give him a reason for why you were so nervous, which might throw him off the trail."

"Oh, okay," you say, relieved.

The pair of you sit in silence for a minute before you look over at the note. "So what does that say?"

Robin shrugs. "I'm not sure."

Your eyes widen. "You can't read it either?!" you gasp. You'd thought it was just you, but maybe it's written in a completely different language-

Robin shakes his head. "Oh, I can read it," he says, causing you to deflate a bit. "It's just that whoever wrote it, probably this Belle character, worked to make it as obvious as possible that it's in code without saying so outright." He frowns. "She went to an almost absurd amount of effort… I wonder…"

When he doesn't immediately continue his thought, you nudge him. "Wonder what?"

"Well, I'm almost certain that Belle is Countess Mantrae's spy. Not only did she offer you the note, but she also doesn't seem to have been with the Talons long, not if their clear contempt for her is anything to judge by. Mercenaries usually act as a tight-knit group when around strangers, but she doesn't seem to have been accepted into the 'family' yet." His frown deepens. "But by the look of it… I don't think she and whoever the Countess sent have met each other or trust each other. Very interesting…"

"So what do we do now?" you ask.

Robin pauses to consider. "Well, I didn't find out anything as important as you, but I did discover that the wyvern and its rider have been consistently leaving for most of the day. Most people think they're just out hunting so they don't destroy the local herds, but there have been some whispers that she might be delivering messages. Nothing confirmed, though." Sitting back, he folds his arms. "The townsfolk are also pretty sure the mercs are going to be leaving tomorrow: apparently they've started to outstay their welcome and Glenhaven's supplies."

"So if we want to do something, we're going to have to do it tonight?" you ask.

"If we want to have the fight here, then yes," he says. "Although we could conceivably wait, that would almost certainly throw Belle under the cart." When you give him a confused look, he sighs. "Whatever's in this note, it's her way of setting up a plan with her allies outside. Since she was taking the risk of using a child as a messenger, that means she's either got a much better read on you than I can imagine she did, or she's feeling the pressure and wants things done fast. Since she doesn't seem to have any other way to contact them, she'll probably carry out her half of the plan tonight, assuming the message got through."

Frowning, you stare at the note. "So if we don't give that to Mantrae's people, then she'll probably get hurt or killed?" you ask.

"Not necessarily. You can see in the dark, and in your other form you can see and hear a lot better, right?" You nod. "If we were to wait until nightfall, we could see what she does, then move in to cover her ourselves. That would cut Countess Mantrae's agents out of the hunt, and we could leverage saving Belle into her assistance in getting Lady Sypha back to Agrithe."

"… but that would still be a risk for her, right? And she'd be mad that I betrayed her."

Robin nods. "In order: certainly yes and quite possibly. Though she could be honestly impressed, too. Depends on her temperament."

You consider for a minute. "So what do we do about the note?"

"The way I see it, we have three options," Robin says. "First, we just hold onto it and play tonight by ear. Second, if we want to give the Talons someone else to worry about, I go and deliver the note, let whatever plan is in place play out, then swoop in and ensure that, when the dust clears, we're the ones who rescue Lady Sypha." He pauses as you flinch at his euphemistic wording. "If… however, we want to give cooperation a try, you could take the message to them. You have something of a connection with them, even if it's a tenuous one, so they might be willing to talk with you. I'm a stranger; if they're smart they wouldn't risk telling me too much in case I'm a spy."

The two of you talk it over for a while, and in the end you come to an agreement.

[] Keep the note to yourselves. You'll have to react quickly to whatever plan Belle has, but there's no way Mantrae's people could sneak Sypha out from under your noses.
[] Have Robin deliver the note. He'll get some idea of their capabilities, and Belle's plan will proceed, but hopefully you'll be able to act to rescue Sypha in the end.
[] Go with Robin and deliver the note yourself, and try to form some sort of an agreement. Mantrae's people almost certainly have orders to bring her straight back to Legerius, but maybe you can work something out.

There is also still time before tonight, the earliest time when you can reasonably hope to succeed at rescuing Sypha. What do you want to do until then?

[] Rest and plan. You're still a little tired; so taking a bit of time will mean that you'll be in top form for tonight.
[] Go and see if you can find Jace and/or John. You still feel bad about abandoning them, maybe you can still make things right. Also, you are curious about what exactly Jace saw that scared him so much… it might be important.
[] Try to make contact with Belle. This will be risky, as she'll be in the Talons camp, but if you're planning on cutting Mantrae's people out of the equation, it might be worth it to come to a direct agreement with Belle.
[] Write-in

NOTE: If you choose to deliver the note to Mantrae's people yourself, that will take up some of your time and may affect how successful your plan is.